We were just settling into a nice routine around here. I was getting lots of work done. The house actually looked fairly decent. I was feeling pretty good about our new routine. Then I picked my girls up from school yesterday.
My oldest came out with a flushed face, glassy eyes and a miserable expression. When we got home, the thermometer read 101.6. We managed exactly 2 1/2 days of school before illness struck our home.
We had a rough year last year with my girls missing bunches of school because of illness. I was so hoping for a better year this year. We had my youngest daughter's adenoids taken out and tubes put in her ears the Friday before school started in hopes we could avoid the string of illness that laid us low so often last year. So far, we're not off to a great start.
But I'm hopeful things will turn around. Maybe this is simply an anomaly for the year.
Sometimes, we start a new job, a new task, a new schedule with high hopes. We expect that everything is going to go well. All the issues we had with the last set of circumstances will be solved with this new transition. Then we hit the first obstacle, and too often our reaction is what mine was yesterday afternoon. "Really? Now? I thought we were done with this."
I have totally reworked my schedule for the fall. I know God has been calling me to do more writing, so I had crafted my schedule so the end of the week would provide me with a good block of time to write. And, here we are in the first week with a sick kid at home at the end of the week.
I'm positive that Satan has no desire for me to write any more than I am. As a matter of fact, I'm sure he would prefer that I not write as much as I do. I fully expect more obstacles to land in my lap on Thursdays and Fridays this fall.
1 Peter 5:8 says "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." When God asks us to do something, and we begin to follow through, we can be sure that Satan is going to be throwing up obstacles in our paths. Whether it's a sick kid on the first week of a new schedule or a tempting invitation to do something else, Satan wants to keep us busy with other things so we can't do the things God asks of us.
As 1 Peter 5:8 says, we need to constantly be alert, looking for ways that Satan wants to distract us from God's plans for us. Satan may not always throw up obvious stumbling blocks. He may simply offer us a more tempting option -- something that sounds like more fun or like it will do more good than what we're currently doing. But if it's not what God has asked us to do, and it is taking away from what He has asked us to do, then it's the wrong thing to do.
Help your kids stick with God's plan for them and not be distracted by Satan's temptations. Help your kids sort through the right and wrong things to do in certain situations. Pray with them when they are trying to make choices. Give them encouragement and wisdom so they can discern what God wants them to do.
Be on the lookout for ways that Satan wants to distract you from what God has planned for you. Don't get discouraged when road blocks pop up on the path God has asked you to take. Stick with God's plan because it's always better than anything we can come up with on our own.
Showing posts with label planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label planning. Show all posts
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Small Area Practice
Our hockey player has had some upheaval in her little hockey universe. USA Hockey, the governing body for youth hockey in the United States, has mandated that all under 8 hockey programs move to a cross-ice format for games.
Last year, my daughter played full-ice hockey, just like the pros in the NHL. Through a bunch of research much too complicated for an 8-year-old to understand, USA Hockey has determined that a smaller ice area at a young age makes for better players as they get older.
Small area practices and games force the kids to move quickly, keep their heads up and improve their stick-handling, footwork and passing skills. As they get older and move to full ice, they are better hockey players because they have the fundamentals down.
None of this matters to my daughter. All she can see is that last year she got to play full-ice hockey, and this year she has to play "baby hockey." While I sympathize with the sentiment, it's my job to help her understand the benefits of this style of play for the next six months until she moves up to the next level when she'll go back to playing full ice.
As I've been pondering how to best help her approach the season, I realized that a lot of times, God gives us some small area practice before sticking us in the big game. Often, God will give us opportunities to learn and practice skills in small ways. He knows that we'll need those skills down the road for the bigger plans He has for us.
We often make plans and then get upset when those plans are thwarted. But our plans are never as good as God's plans. We can't even conceive of the things that God can plan for us. Proverbs 19:21 says, "Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails."
Just like USA Hockey, God looks at the big picture. This year is going to be tough for my little hockey player and all her 8-year-old friends because they simply aren't old enough to grasp the big picture. Ten years from now, they may look back at this year and realize that it made them better hockey players, but right now it simply seems like a whole season full of unfairness.
The same is true for us. Too often, we can't see the big picture. We don't understand why we're being put to the test in the areas of patience, perseverance and faithfulness. God can see down the road. He's preparing us to do big things for Him, but many times He allows us to have some small area practice first. We may not enjoy that practice because we're busy looking at the big game and wondering when we're going to get in it. We may not appreciate the lessons we're mastering because they don't seem important.
But down the road, we're going to appreciate what we've learned. When we get a chance to participate in the big game of God's plan, we'll look back on those moments of small area practice and realize God was getting us ready. He was improving our fundamentals so we would be effective for Him in the long run.
Helping our kids understand this idea is important, too. So many times during those pre-teen and teen years, it can seem like all we're doing is marking time, waiting to be old enough to drive, old enough to date or old enough to leave home. Talking with your kids about how life is sometimes like a sport -- we have to practice before we get into the game -- can help alleviate some of those feelings of frustration. Knowing that those times are simply practice for something bigger gives our kids a sense of purpose and perspective that will see them through the waiting.
So, the next time you're faced with a moment where God is asking you to take what appears to be a step backward, remember that He may just be offering you some small area practice before asking you to take center ice in His plan.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Summer: Creating Opportunities to Teach
A couple of summers ago, my kids had a case of what the Berenstein Bears call the "gimmes." You've all run into the "gimmes." You walk into a store, and immediately your kids start saying "gimme this" or "gimme that." It seemed as if my kids had turned into greedy children almost overnight.
So, I decided we were going to spend the summer focusing on those less fortunate than we are. I created a summer "camp" around an Amazing Race theme. We called it "Passport to the World." Every week we "traveled" to a different country where we learned about the customs in that country and compared them to the way we live in the U.S. We also learned about a missionary in that country and the work they did.
By the time our summer was over, my girls and four of their friends had a good grasp on how people in the rest of the world live and how fortunate they were to be able to go to school, have enough to eat and not be limited in their options for life simply because of who their family is. They learned six Bible verses and ate some different foods.
Their attitudes had undergone a radical change as well. While we still get the occasional attack of the "gimmes" in our house, more often we find our girls looking for people in need and trying to meet those needs. We've continued to work with the girls and teach them about unselfishness, but the roots of what they learned came from that summer spent "traveling" around the world.
While most of the time, this blog is about finding moments to teach in your kids simply as you go about your life, summer is the perfect time to set aside some time to create an opportunity to teach your children. Great teaching takes place in the spur of the moment -- and we'll talk about that tomorrow -- but if you create an opportunity to put the spotlight on a character quality or other subject for the entire summer, you can take advantage of the time to really reinforce the concept.
Yesterday, I asked you to create a focus statement for your summer. Today, I'm going to walk you through the steps to create your own opportunity to teach your kids this summer. Your opportunity doesn't have to be as big as our "trip" around the world. You can take a half hour a week to get your point across, or you can do something every day. The amount of time you invest is up to you. The important thing is that you make the effort to provide your kids with a concentrated focus for the summer.
Begin by making a few decisions:
You can create an entire summer of activity focused on your theme or you can plan to spend a few minutes each day simply talking with your kids about a topic. Whatever you do, make it fun and make it memorable. Let your knowledge of your kids be your guide in creating activities. If your kids love crafts, plan some craft activities around your theme. If they love sports, figure out a way to get some physical activity in your time together.
Make the most of your time together this summer by creating opportunities to teach your kids because the days will slip by quickly. Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens." In our house, we've found summer to be the season for creating opportunities to teach our kids, mold their character and have fun together. I hope this summer, you'll find that to be true, too.
Next week, the blog is going to focus on ways to teach particular topics during the summer. I'd love to know what some of you are planning to focus on with your kids this summer, so I can get you started. Leave me a comment here on the blog or on the Facebook page letting me know what topic you'll be creating opportunities to teach your kids this summer.
So, I decided we were going to spend the summer focusing on those less fortunate than we are. I created a summer "camp" around an Amazing Race theme. We called it "Passport to the World." Every week we "traveled" to a different country where we learned about the customs in that country and compared them to the way we live in the U.S. We also learned about a missionary in that country and the work they did.
By the time our summer was over, my girls and four of their friends had a good grasp on how people in the rest of the world live and how fortunate they were to be able to go to school, have enough to eat and not be limited in their options for life simply because of who their family is. They learned six Bible verses and ate some different foods.
Their attitudes had undergone a radical change as well. While we still get the occasional attack of the "gimmes" in our house, more often we find our girls looking for people in need and trying to meet those needs. We've continued to work with the girls and teach them about unselfishness, but the roots of what they learned came from that summer spent "traveling" around the world.
While most of the time, this blog is about finding moments to teach in your kids simply as you go about your life, summer is the perfect time to set aside some time to create an opportunity to teach your children. Great teaching takes place in the spur of the moment -- and we'll talk about that tomorrow -- but if you create an opportunity to put the spotlight on a character quality or other subject for the entire summer, you can take advantage of the time to really reinforce the concept.
Yesterday, I asked you to create a focus statement for your summer. Today, I'm going to walk you through the steps to create your own opportunity to teach your kids this summer. Your opportunity doesn't have to be as big as our "trip" around the world. You can take a half hour a week to get your point across, or you can do something every day. The amount of time you invest is up to you. The important thing is that you make the effort to provide your kids with a concentrated focus for the summer.
Begin by making a few decisions:
- How much time do you have?
- Do you want to work with just your kids or do you want to invite some of their friends?
- How much money do you want to spend?
- Do you want to do it all at your home or do you want to go elsewhere?
- What resources do you need?
- When will you meet?
You can create an entire summer of activity focused on your theme or you can plan to spend a few minutes each day simply talking with your kids about a topic. Whatever you do, make it fun and make it memorable. Let your knowledge of your kids be your guide in creating activities. If your kids love crafts, plan some craft activities around your theme. If they love sports, figure out a way to get some physical activity in your time together.
Make the most of your time together this summer by creating opportunities to teach your kids because the days will slip by quickly. Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens." In our house, we've found summer to be the season for creating opportunities to teach our kids, mold their character and have fun together. I hope this summer, you'll find that to be true, too.
Next week, the blog is going to focus on ways to teach particular topics during the summer. I'd love to know what some of you are planning to focus on with your kids this summer, so I can get you started. Leave me a comment here on the blog or on the Facebook page letting me know what topic you'll be creating opportunities to teach your kids this summer.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Are You Ready For Summer?
I know it's hard to believe, but summer is just around the corner. As we flip the calendar page to May, my kids only have three weeks of school left. Then it's a seemingly endless stretch of lazy days until August.
I love summer. I love getting to spend lots of time with my kids. I love that there are a lot of days in the summer where we get up with nothing on the calendar. The hustle and bustle of the school year settles into a more restful pace.
Summer is a fantastic time to reconnect with your kids and focus on teaching them some things that they won't learn in school. It's a fabulous time to create some intentional moments with your kids to share with them God's truths.
But, that won't happen without a plan. For the next few weeks, the blog is going to focus on planning for summer. We'll look at how to get ready for an intentional summer and how to implement some of those ideas into your everyday life. This week, we're going to focus on planning for summer.
And that starts with prayer. I've found the key to a successful summer, like most anything else in life, begins with me on my knees.
Before you can plan anything, you need a direction for your summer. It's easier to be intentional about using the time in your summer if you have one or two things on which to focus your energies. Summer is a great time to work on attitudes and behaviors that indicate a godly character. With your kids out from under the daily influence of other kids at school, sports or activities, you can work one-on-one with your kids on those character qualities that you most want to see them develop.
Today, I want you to ask God what He wants you to do with your summer. Follow the guidance found in Proverbs 16:3 "Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans."
Don't read this blog this morning and skip this step. I promise if you spend the time in prayer about how to best spend your summer, God will reveal exactly the things that your kids need to know. If we go on about our plans without submitting to God's plan, then we and our kids will miss out.
I love summer. I love getting to spend lots of time with my kids. I love that there are a lot of days in the summer where we get up with nothing on the calendar. The hustle and bustle of the school year settles into a more restful pace.
Summer is a fantastic time to reconnect with your kids and focus on teaching them some things that they won't learn in school. It's a fabulous time to create some intentional moments with your kids to share with them God's truths.
But, that won't happen without a plan. For the next few weeks, the blog is going to focus on planning for summer. We'll look at how to get ready for an intentional summer and how to implement some of those ideas into your everyday life. This week, we're going to focus on planning for summer.
And that starts with prayer. I've found the key to a successful summer, like most anything else in life, begins with me on my knees.
Before you can plan anything, you need a direction for your summer. It's easier to be intentional about using the time in your summer if you have one or two things on which to focus your energies. Summer is a great time to work on attitudes and behaviors that indicate a godly character. With your kids out from under the daily influence of other kids at school, sports or activities, you can work one-on-one with your kids on those character qualities that you most want to see them develop.
Today, I want you to ask God what He wants you to do with your summer. Follow the guidance found in Proverbs 16:3 "Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans."
- Ask God to make this summer a special time for you and your kids. Ask Him to help you look forward to the long stretch of days with your kids with anticipation and not dread.
- Pray over each of your children, asking God to show you the specific things He wants you to teach each of them this summer.
- Lay your calendar before you and pray over it, letting God show you how to fill those days.
- Ask God for patience and understanding for your kids as you all work back into a routine of spending more time together this summer.
- Ask God to show you two or three truths that He wants you to share with your kids this summer. These are the things around which you want to build your summer activities.
- Pray that your summer would be filled with fun and laughter for both you and your kids.
Don't read this blog this morning and skip this step. I promise if you spend the time in prayer about how to best spend your summer, God will reveal exactly the things that your kids need to know. If we go on about our plans without submitting to God's plan, then we and our kids will miss out.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Busted plans
I got up yesterday morning intending for it to be another typical day -- me and my husband off to work and the girls off to school. That plan was interrupted by the knock on my bathroom door as I was taking my shower. A wan little face appeared in the crack of the door, followed by the dreaded words, "My tummy hurts."
A month ago I would have greeted those words with dismay but would have taken them in stride. But five weeks into my seven-week temporary job, I didn't really want to hear those words. My perfectly ordered day where I would go to work, pick up my girls and two of their friends after school, supervise homework, eat dinner and take my oldest to soccer practice imploded before my eyes.
This was also our first experience with a sick kid and two jobs. We had to quickly figure out who was staying home for how long, inform the neighbor that I coudn't watch her kids after school like I had promised and work out who would take my oldest to soccer practice so the sick child didn't have to go out. It all worked out, but it got me to thinking about planning.
Plans are a good thing. They give us direction and organization in our lives. Some people like plans more than others. We all know people who have a hard time coping when their plans have to change. Maybe you're one of those people who have a panic attack when plans go awry. Then there are those people who never have a plan and seem to fly through life by the seat of their pants. These people drive the planners crazy, and the planners drive the non-planners crazy, as well.
Whether you are a planner or not, you need to keep in mind that we can make plans but we always need to be open to God changing those plans. If we become so stuck in our plans that we refuse to change course when God asks us to, we will miss opportunities to serve God and be blessed by Him. Sometimes God will ask you to make a big change -- like selling everything you own and bringing clean water to the people of Belize. Other times He might ask you to make a small change -- like cancelling your plans for the evening to spend time with a broken-hearted child. Whatever He asks you to do, don't be so tied to your plans that you can't make a detour when God asks. Proverbs 16:9 reminds us of this as it says "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." And Proverbs 19:21 states "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails."
Help your kids to be open to God's leading in their lives:
And the blessing in yesterday's busted plans? I got to spend the afternoon and evening with my youngest watching TV and snuggling -- and that's worth way more than three hours of missed work.
A month ago I would have greeted those words with dismay but would have taken them in stride. But five weeks into my seven-week temporary job, I didn't really want to hear those words. My perfectly ordered day where I would go to work, pick up my girls and two of their friends after school, supervise homework, eat dinner and take my oldest to soccer practice imploded before my eyes.
This was also our first experience with a sick kid and two jobs. We had to quickly figure out who was staying home for how long, inform the neighbor that I coudn't watch her kids after school like I had promised and work out who would take my oldest to soccer practice so the sick child didn't have to go out. It all worked out, but it got me to thinking about planning.
Plans are a good thing. They give us direction and organization in our lives. Some people like plans more than others. We all know people who have a hard time coping when their plans have to change. Maybe you're one of those people who have a panic attack when plans go awry. Then there are those people who never have a plan and seem to fly through life by the seat of their pants. These people drive the planners crazy, and the planners drive the non-planners crazy, as well.
Whether you are a planner or not, you need to keep in mind that we can make plans but we always need to be open to God changing those plans. If we become so stuck in our plans that we refuse to change course when God asks us to, we will miss opportunities to serve God and be blessed by Him. Sometimes God will ask you to make a big change -- like selling everything you own and bringing clean water to the people of Belize. Other times He might ask you to make a small change -- like cancelling your plans for the evening to spend time with a broken-hearted child. Whatever He asks you to do, don't be so tied to your plans that you can't make a detour when God asks. Proverbs 16:9 reminds us of this as it says "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." And Proverbs 19:21 states "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails."
Help your kids to be open to God's leading in their lives:
- Talk with your kids about what they have planned for their day. Start asking them how they would change their plans if their friend got hurt or someone in their class needed help. Point out that having a plan for the day is a good idea, but God sometimes puts people in our paths that need our help and that requires a change in plans.
Give your child a task to plan -- it can be a party, an activity or just the schedule for the day. After they have it all planned, throw a kink in the works -- you're double-booked, you can't afford the event, you need to add extra people. See how your child handles the change. Talk with her about alternative options and point out the benefits of those options. Help your child understand that just because her plans got messed up doesn't mean it's the end of the world -- there are blessing to be had in all the options.
And the blessing in yesterday's busted plans? I got to spend the afternoon and evening with my youngest watching TV and snuggling -- and that's worth way more than three hours of missed work.
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